Celebrities demonstrate after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas 1:38
(CNN) --
Actor Matthew McConaughey gave an impassioned and at times emotional speech at a White House news conference Tuesday, sharing the stories of those killed in the Uvalde Elementary School shooting. , Texas, and urged more action on gun control.
McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, said he and his wife, Camila Alves, spent most of the past week with the victims' families in their hometown.
He showed photos of her artwork and brought into the press room the green Converse shoes that a girl wore every day and that were used to identify her body after the shooting.
The girl had drawn a heart on one of her shoes.
"She died trying to save her classmates": what we know about the victims of the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas
He said he needed to tell their stories to show how necessary it was to take action to honor the lives of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School last month.
“Do you know what each of these parents wanted, what they asked of us?
What did each father express to us separately in his way to Camila and me?
Who want their children's dreams to live on.
That they want their children's dreams to continue, to achieve something after they are gone.
They want to make their deaths matter," McConaughey said.
He said there was now a "window of opportunity" to enact meaningful gun law reform and called for universal background checks, raising the minimum age to buy an AR-15 to 21, a waiting period to buy an AR-15 and the implementation of "red flag" laws.
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"These are reasonable, practical, and tactical regulations for our country, states, communities, schools, and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step backwards: they are a step forward for civil society and the Second Amendment," McConaughey said in a roughly 20-minute speech from the podium.
Biden meets with victims of the massacre in Uvalde 5:37
The Academy Award-winning actor briefly met with President Joe Biden before taking the podium, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
McConaughey spoke in great detail about the children and the dreams they had before they were killed: One wanted to be a marine biologist, another had been preparing to read a Bible verse in church next week, another wanted to go to school of art in Paris.
“You could feel the commotion in the city.
You could feel the pain, the denial, the disappointment, the anger, the guilt, the sadness, the loss of life, the dreams stopped,” she said.
McConaughey said: "Because of the exceptionally large exit wounds from an AR-15 rifle, most of the bodies were so mutilated that only DNA testing or green Converse (shoes) could be used to identify them. Many children were left not alone dead but empty. So, yes, therapists are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time."
"We have to look in the mirror with sobriety and humility and honesty and rebrand ourselves based on what we really value. What we really value. We have to have real value and honor our immortal obligations rather than our party affiliations," he said. McConaughey.
US states with higher gun ownership have more gun violence deaths.
These are the data
He continued: "Enough backlash. Enough invalidating the other side. Let's go to the common table that represents the American people. Let's find a middle ground, the place where most Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue. Because I promise you, America, you and I, that we are not as divided as they tell us we are."
McConaughey met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday to discuss gun control legislation.
The "Dallas Buyers Club" actor publicly considered a run for governor in Texas last year, but ultimately ruled it out — for now.
He said it was "a path that he chooses not to take at this time."
McConaughey told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that he hoped to be making progress in his meetings with lawmakers.
He had left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was on his way to another meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The president met Tuesday with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who is leading bipartisan negotiations on gun control reform.
Murphy told reporters at the White House that he met with the president for about half an hour and discussed the outlines of ongoing reform negotiations.
Murphy emphasized how much he appreciated Biden and the White House giving senators "room" to try to reach a deal, saying his goal remains to reach a deal by the end of this week.
Report: There are more gun crimes in the US than self-defense cases 2:50
While the odds of any sweeping reform remain very slim, lawmakers have expressed optimism that agreement could be reached on a specific bill, and as early as the end of this week.
Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden was "encouraged" by the Senate negotiations on gun control measures.
The president delivered an impassioned speech from the White House after the mass shooting at Uvalde Elementary School last month and ratcheted up pressure on Congress to act.
He has called on Congress to implement stronger gun laws, including an assault weapons ban, stronger background check laws and a higher minimum purchase age.
CNN's Phil Mattingly and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.
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